Texas Rangers vs. Boston Red Sox: Odds, Analysis, MLB Betting Pick

The American League East-leading Boston Red Sox (64-29) will look to extend their current MLB-best eight-game winning streak Wednesday when they host the Texas Rangers (40-53) as massive home favorites at the sportsbooks.

Boston has won the first two games of this series over Texas by a total score of 13-4.

MLB betting line: The Red Sox opened as -318 favorites (wager $318 to win $100); the total is at 8.5 runs, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

MLB betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 4.8-0.2, Red Sox (MLB picks on every game)

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Why the Rangers can pay on the MLB lines

The Rangers are such large underdogs in this spot that it's hard not to try to justify them as a potential upset winner.

Ageless wonder Bartolo Colon (5-6, 4.65 ERA) will toe the rubber for Texas, and he has pitched pretty well in splitting his past four starts.

The 45-year-old righty has given up three runs or less in each of his last four outings, with three of them going at least six innings and three taking place on the road.

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

Colon's ERA is slightly lower away from home, too, at 4.37 while posting a 3-4 mark in nine games.

Why the Red Sox can pay on the MLB lines

The Red Sox are coming off an 8-4 victory Tuesday following a 5-0 win on Monday, and now they have ace Chris Sale (9-4, 2.36 ERA) going to the mound looking for his fourth consecutive win.

During his personal three-game winning streak, the 29-year-old has allowed only one run and 10 hits with three walks and 36 strikeouts in 20 innings of work.

The lanky lefty has also seen Boston beat its opponents by a combined score of 26-5 over that stretch, so run support has not been an issue as it was at times earlier in the season.

Smart betting pick

Taking the Red Sox might seem like a no-brainer, but the moneyline is much too high to risk a loss here. Instead, the runline is a much better (and less risky) pick considering they have won four of the past five meetings with the Rangers by four runs or more.

In fact, the winner in this series overall has covered the runline in 16 of the previous 17 head-to-head matchups between them, according to the OddsShark MLB Database.

MLB betting trends

Texas is 1-4 in its last five games.

Texas is 1-4 in its last five games on the road.

The total has gone over in four of Boston's last five games.

All MLB odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.